1. Technical Field
This application relates to a power meter and, more specifically, to a power meter having fault tolerance.
2. Related Art
Fault tolerance is generally regarded as the ability to mask, or recover from, erroneous conditions in a system once an error has been detected. Fault tolerance typically describes a computer system or component designed so that, in the event that a component fails, a backup component or procedure can take its place with substantially little or no loss of service.
Fault tolerance may be provided with software, hardware, or by some combination. In some software implementations, the operating system may provide an interface that allows a programmer to “checkpoint” critical data at pre-determined points or times. In some hardware implementations, the programmer does not need to be aware of the fault-tolerant capabilities of the machine. In some of these implementations, fault tolerance may be achieved through the use of redundant components. However, in some of these software and/or hardware implementations, if a primary device fails, a backup device may be unaware of the data previously processed by the primary device, and therefore discontinuities may exist between the data processed by the primary device and the data processed by the backup device.